


Carlos can wait

by FreddieFoxBaxter



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Canon, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I can't get fluffier than this, M/M, caretaker!Carlos, hurt!TK, missing moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:54:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23944252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreddieFoxBaxter/pseuds/FreddieFoxBaxter
Summary: Carlos finally finds an excuse to go see TK when he gets out of the hospital(don’t mind me, just tiptoeing into a new fandom)
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 2
Kudos: 117
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Carlos can wait

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt was "Soup for the sick" and I couldn't resist trying to write something about these two.  
> Enjoy!

With a last stir, Carlos turns off the stove and puts down the wooden spoon. He has doubts about his plan, but now it’s too late to back down. His first idea was to show up at the station and ask Captain Strand if there were any news, but he had no right to do so; he isn’t TK’s boyfriend - they are barely friends - and Carlos was nervous of TK’s reaction had he gone to his father, however that didn’t stop him from caring about his well being.

He worried himself sick for a week, looking for the right excuse to come see him and, finally, Michelle had suggested the right one when they went out for an after-shift drink last night. And that’s how he found himself spending the morning of his day off making soup. His heart pounds in his chest while he fills up a bowl; he can feel TK’s stare burning a hole in his back, but Carlos is still not ready to face him, so he keeps himself busy tidying up the kitchen for a few more minutes.

The firefighter was home alone when he arrived; he didn’t seem bothered nor surprised by his visit. He let him into his home and he didn’t say a word when Carlos took over the kitchen, inviting him to sit back on the couch.

“You didn’t have to do all this”. Carlos hides a smile at the sight of the little pout on TK’s face when the man finally decides to break the silence between them.

“I wanted to” he answers, moving closer to the couch, careful not to spill the soup. “Besides, it was no problem at all”.

TK leans in, enticed by the smell coming from the bowl. Carlos remembered to toast a couple of slices of bread to help with the spicy soup.

He warns “Watch out, it’s hot”, but TK answers with a smirk.

“I can handle hot” he teases, tasting the first spoon; Carlos can see the regret in his eyes as soon as the broth touches his lips. He bites his tongue, but the I told you must be written all over his face, because TK blushes and pouts for a moment.

Carlos holds his breath. The need to kiss his curled up lips makes him shiver, but he patiently awaits. Only when TK takes a second spoon, he releases a sigh of relief. There’s a warmth in his chest as he watches the man avidly eating the whole bowl of soup.

TK’s face is paler and he looks thinner, but all things considered he could be worse. From where Carlos is sitting, it’d be almost impossible to say that the man was in a coma just a few days ago.

“You can come closer if you want to, you know?” There’s a bit of hesitation in TK’s eyes, but his smile is warm and he does push away the blanket to make room for Carlos. As soon as he sits besides him, TK moves his legs on top of Carlos’ with a little smirk, while the cop relaxes his back against the couch.

“How are you doing?” he asks caressing TK’s knee in a reassuring gesture.

“Mmh,” he sighs, “gets better every day, but it still stings a little”. Carlos nods; the discomfort in his voice didn’t fall on deaf ears.

“We can talk about something else if this is making you uncomfortable”. TK rewards his words with one of those bright smiles that make Carlos’ heart skip a beat.

“This is really good” he says pointing at the now empty bowl, and a smile curls Carlos lips.

“Thanks. It’s my grandma’s recipe”.

“Yeah?” TK asks munching on the last pieces of bread.

He nods “Yeah”, taking one of TK’s feet in his hands to gently massage it. “She used to make it all the time, especially if one of her grandkids was sick”.

“Well, it was really… tasty”. Carlos smiles at the hesitation in TK’s voice, aware he is trying to protect his feelings.

“Yeah, I might have put in too much cilantro” he admits. He made a few changes to the original recipe to better suit his own taste and it didn’t occur to him that TK might like something different, but the man teases him once again.

“Just because it was a bit too spicy, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like it” and Carlos hides the bitterness blossomed in his chest behind yet another smile; it’s always like this with TK. He says stuff like that with his playful tone, and Carlos is left to guess whether he means it or flirting just comes naturally to him. Carlos doesn’t seem to be able to get used to that, he prefers a more direct kind of approach, no games and no deceptions, and yet he now finds himself falling for a guy that keeps him on his toes while at the same time keeps him at an arm-length.

TK told him coming from a bad break up he needs more time, and Carlos respects that. Sometime he wishes he was more selfish, able to just demand what he wanted, but he knows it’s not in his nature. So he’ll wait till TK is ready to explore the undeniable spark between them, because his instinct say TK is a man worth waiting for. But that’s a discussion for another day - he figures. Right now all that matter is that TK gets better, Carlos can wait.


End file.
